


Bus Rides and Destiny

by AryaWinchester



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, First Meetings, Meet-Cute, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-24
Updated: 2015-09-24
Packaged: 2018-04-23 03:38:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4861559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AryaWinchester/pseuds/AryaWinchester
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin hasn't found his soulmate...<br/>...yet</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bus Rides and Destiny

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry this is short! I had 15 minutes to write it and then spent a while editing and adding a bit of stuff. I hope its okay!  
> Soulmate AU where the first thing your soulmate says is tattooed on your arm and turns black when you meet them.

Merlin looked at the word on his wrist.

Hi

That's all it said. That's all it ever said. So many people had said hi to him, yet it still stayed red. He wished for the day it turned black, so he would really know who his soulmate is.

Merlin always rode the bus alone. He enjoyed people watching, so that's what he did. He looked around. The bus was almost full now. He was grateful that his trip was the entire bus route. He got on first, he got off last.

A blond man hopped on at the next stop and sat across from him.

Merlin knew this man. He always got on at the same stop, halfway through Merlin's route, and got off a stop before him. He always wore a dark red jacket and either jeans or suit pants. He would sit down across from Merlin, never saying anything, and text or read.

The two had never talked, but still Merlin knew him.

Sure enough, near the end of the bus route, the man got off and waved back to Merlin, just raising a hand. Just like every day.

This had been going on pretty much the entire time that Merlin had been taking this bus. A whole year.

 

* * *

 

 

Again, he sat down across from Merlin, but instead of taking out his phone or Eragon (the book Merlin knew he was reading) he leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and smiled.

“Hi.” he was still staring at Merlin.

Merlin looked down at his wrist, instinctively, expecting to see the one red word.

It was black. That one word was black.

“Holy shit. You’re my soulmate.” Merlin's eyes were wide. That's all he could say. This… this man was his…

The man's face lit up, but quickly turned into a scowl. “Do you know how much trouble you have caused? I couldn’t see what my words were until I was thirteen! And even then, my father was worried about what the teachers and other students would say. It was covered up at all times. You can’t just have swears written on you when you’re a kid!” he held up his left arm and pulled up the sleeve to reveal the words Merlin had just said, set in black.

Merlin was too busy laughing to properly respond. “I-I’m sorry! But can you imagine having the first word your soulmate says to you being ‘Hi’? Everyone says hi! It's hard to explain why you’re upset to meet someone after they say something as simple as that.”

The blond smiled at that. “I’m Arthur.”

“Merlin.” he extended his hand. Arthur took it. His hand was rough with callouses, but it was warm. Arthur got up, not letting go, and sat beside Merlin.

“Would…” he looked into Merlin's blue eyes and cocked his head to the side.

“What?” Merlin asked.

Arthur shook his head to clear it. “Has anyone ever told you that you have a bit of gold in your eyes? Right around the pupil.”

Merlin laughed again. “No, but I don’t think that was what you were going to ask me.”

“It wasn’t.” Arthur smiled back. “Would you like to grab some coffee?”

Merlin nodded in response. “I would love to.”

They never rode the bus alone again.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Please leave comments, criticism, and more prompts for me!  
> Read, Write, Love.


End file.
